“Fuel economy has definitely become a more important issue, and I think if we were in the field with the survey right now I think it would be even more important,” said Tom Gauer, senior director of automotive retail research at J.D. Power. The company was in the field surveying people in May and June of 2008. At that time gas prices were spiking above $4.00 per gallon for the first time in many places.

The report of that survey, released this week was picked up widely by the media. It showed that nearly 20% of buyers cited inadequate gas mileage as a reason for rejecting one car in favor of another. That rather negatively phrased qualifier was up 3% from 2007 making it the biggest mover in this year’s survey. It has jumped 15% total from 2003, tracking the spike in gas prices since then.

There was also a 3% rise in the number of people reported to be considering Asian brand cars over domestic brands. There was no breakdown offered that pointed to what vehicles were favored over others in the report. However, hybrid vehicles have been outselling non-hybrids for several months. The Toyota Prius hybrid remains the hottest selling car with a waiting list that tops a month in some places.

Gas mileage is now the number 3 factor in rejecting a car during the buying decision. The number 2 factor cited is the car’s monthly payment price. Number 1 remains the sticker price of a vehicle.

There were plenty of conflicting stories and a certain level of panic, but nothing too widespread. There were also plenty of people who reportedly stocked up using any available type of tank anytime they were able to jockey into position at a pump. There were also plenty of other people angry at them for taking advantage of the situation and not thinking of their neighbors in need, but no reports of deadly violence.

Elsewhere in the country, hurricane Ike’s effects were felt in the fuel industry in other ways.  Some alternative energy plants were taken offline and are expected to remain so for a month or two. Gas prices rose overall, but fell again over the last week.

On the long end of things …. Two copywriters who set out from midtwon Manhatten to drive to California on a single tank of biodiesel didn’t suffer a fuel shortage. While they didn’t set the speed record they had hoped, they made it to their destination on the 50 gallons of fuel in their Volkswagon Jetta’s special tank.  Since the route was approximately 3,000 miles, they were able to achieve about 60 miles to the gallon on the trip.

On the super long end of things … John and Helen Taylor, an Australian husband and wife team, who set a Guinness World Record for driving the globe on 24 tanks of fuel in 2006 are still on the road in America, but are very close to the end of their trip. They are attempting to break the current world record for lowest fuel consumption on a drive across the 48 contiguous United States. The current world record for the lowest fuel consumption on a nationwide drive is 51.58 miles per gallon. They are using fossil diesel on their trip, but are practicing “hypermiling” driving techniques designed to stretch a gallon of fuel as far as possible.

Now we hear of another Volkswago Jetta setting out from New York City bound for California on what is being called “the Willie Run ‘08.” Only this time, drivers Nik Bristow and Brian Pierce plan to drive non-stop on a single tank of biodiesel fuel. They hope to arrive in Los Angelos on September 24, just 40 hours after setting out. They will stop only long enough to change drivers periodically.

To make a nearly 3,000 mile on a single tank of any kind of fuel would be impossible if the car carried a standard 14 gallon fuel tank.  This diesel Jetta has been specially equipped for the trip, however, with a 60 gallon tank.  The car is suppose to gat 45-50 mpg, which is what will be tested on this trip.

Volkswagon is not the only company in the spotlight on this venture.  Country music singer Willie Nelson’s BioWillie (r) brand of biodiesel will be used. The course the pair will take follows the same route used in the 1970’s Cannonball Run race (and the movie that was made about it in 1981).

That’s not too surprising considering the pair are advertising copywriters. “We’d been working on the BioWillie brand for a while, but it occurred to us that we were working with Willie Nelson, the original outlaw of the music industry, so we needed to be doing something outlaw, Pierce said. Planning for the trip included setting up a website at www.willierun.com where you can follow their progress.

Some of the most important things you can do to increase your vehicles mileage fall under the heading of basic mileage. Keeping your tires inflated above manufacturers specifications, but within the maximum safety level, (shown on the inside of your driver’s door panel usually) can improve your mileage by more than 10% for example. When you do this, however, making sure that you rotate your tires periodically becomes more important to regulate wear.

Here are a few routine maintenance steps you should do at set intervals to make sure you’re getting the best performance from your vehicle that you can. Of course, your owner’s manual will give the information when all maintenance tasks should be done, but the following are pretty standard items and times.

Every 3,000 miles –
Change the engine oil and filter every 3 to 4 thousand miles. Other things you can do at this time include checking the fluids, the air filter, tire pressures, hoses and belts. At this time check the battery cables and terminals for corrosion.

Every 5-10,000 miles –
Have your tires rotated and balanced every five to ten thousand miles. This helps the tires wear evenly and extends the life and is especially important if you are inflating to the maximum safety and gas performance levels. The best tires should be put in the front of the car.

Every 15,000 miles –
Change the air filter every 15,000 miles. A clean air filter improves the fuel economy of your car. At this time you could also check the brake pads and shoes and all fluid levels. This is also a good time to change the wiper blades.

Every 30,000 miles –
This is a big check-up as many of your more routine checks mentioned above will come due at this same time. It is also time for most vehicles to have a complete tune-up and close inspection of the brakes, struts, suspension, etc. It’s also time to check and potentially change the transmission fluid and engine coolant.

Even though these are all “round numbers” and there are only a few to remember, if you miss any of these routine maintenance points, you miss your chance of catching a potentially serious problem before it cripples or kills your car. So these check points become crucial to the dependability of your vehicle.

It can be hard to remember where you are in this maintenance schedule. Luckily there is a program out there that will do the remembering and reminding for you.

We’ve talked about GasDandy before, in a post where we were discussed the ways it helps you monitor and measure your gas mileage improvements over time. However, as you enter each gas purchase, GasDandy also does all the calculations behind the scenes to keep track of these basic maintenance schedules as well. It will then remind you that you need to rotate your tires, or change your oil.

You can purchase and download the personal version that will take care of up to 3 vehicles for you for just $19.95

You can purchase and download the fleet version for your business for just $99.95

What’s not quite so heartening is the fact that so many more of us seem content to wait the 5, 10 or 15 years it may take to get a major automaker’s attention, interest, and committment to turn this sort of a home-designed car into a production vehicle.

http://www.afstrinity.com Title: “Hybrid car of the future” Aired: January 11, 2008 on CNN Description: CNN’s Greg Hunter takes a sneak peek at our ‘extreme hybrid’ car that gets about 150 miles per gallon. 150 miles per gallon SUV. DIGG IT @ digg.com/autos/150_MPG_Extreme_Hybrid_SUV_Unveiled Find out more at http://www.afstrinity.com Visit or newly launched FAQs if you have questions!
Duration : 0:3:47

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